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Hammerburst II
Background The Locust counterpart to the COG's Lancer Assault Rifle, the Hammerburst is the standard-issue assault weapon for Locust Drones. It is a high-powered assault rifle with an emphasis on single-shot damage; in this regard it stays close to the Locust weapon design philosophy of brute force. The Hammerburst is a progressive development. Early models of the Hammerburst (the Gears of War 1 model) had a short barrel, and were cut down in size, presumably to improve maneuverability and handling when used underground (the Locusts' home turf). These early-model Hammerbursts fired a 6-round burst and held a large number of rounds, making them fairly good at medium-to-long range. Unfortunately, the Hammerburst's burst-firing-only fire mode and relative light weight meant that it wasn't a good melee weapon and lacked the Lancer's raw damage output (which was achieved through a generous clip and full-auto firing). Not to be outdone, Locust engineers reworked the weapon into the Hammerburst used in Gears of War 2. Extensive recoil control systems were added, as well as a completely new, longer barrel that was a larger bore. The action was completely reworked, and required a considerable revamp. A rudimentary iron sight was affixed to the top of the receiver as well. The end result was a more accurate, more powerful, and substantially more lethal firearm in skilled hands, though this came at the cost of clip size. The Locust make extensive use of this weapon; though normally employed by Drones, it is also employed extensively by Theron Guards and related forces, such as Palace Guards. Ironically, COG Gears frequently employ the weapon in spite of its bulk and weight, due to its higher stopping power and longer max range. Tactical Use In Gears of War, the Hammerburst was almost universally reviled by players. This is in no small part due to the fact that it has almost nothing in its favor over the Lancer other than its burst-firing, slightly higher firepower, and sustainability. With the changes to the Hammerburst circa Gears of War 2, the Hammerburst took on a much more effective tactical role, and is now quite an effective weapon. In spite of being undeniably the stronger rifle in skilled hands, the Hammerburst remains the less-popular of the two - this comes from a combination of its lack of full-auto capability, lack of Chainsaw Bayonet, and high requirements to get the most out of. Also unlike the lancer it is much harder to use the Hammerburst to provide cover fire even when rapid firing, though unlike the lancer's the Hammerbursts' shots cause considerable damage. so experts may play mind games to force enemies into cover Successful use of the Hammerburst takes practice, patience, and knowledge of both the gun's strengths and weaknesses. It is, beyond any doubt, the harder of the two rifles to employ; the Lancer has a vastly larger clip (literally more than 3 times as large), a faster full-auto rate (which is also faster than the rapid-burst feature of the Hammerburst), and a dreadfully potent melee capability - all of which conspire to make the Lancer far easier to employ. With a little moxie, however, the Hammerburst is easily more potent. To understand where the Hammerburst's utility comes from, an in-depth analysis is needed. First and foremost is range. The Hammerburst does well at any range short of extreme; the Lancer is much better at closer ranges and tapers off quickly at longer ones. Closer ranges almost invariably favor the Lancer, and longer the Hammerburst. This isn't quite a hard-and-fast rule, as you will soon see, but it is generally a good rule of thumb to stay a little further away when first learning to use the Hammerburst. The Hammerburst also has higher per-round firepower and considerably higher Stopping power. One of the most important things to note about the Hammerburst is that it has two distinct fire modes. Holding the fire button down engages the Hammerburst's full auto fire mode - which is quite sluggish at about 2 rounds per second. On the plus side, this is very controllable and highly accurate - even out to long range. Because of this, the Hammerburst excels at maps with wide, open expanses - like Day One and Blood Drive. You can fire the Hammerburst much faster (albeit at the cost of accuracy) by pulling the trigger faster; doing so quickly will crank out infinitely more ammunition than the Hammerburst's sluggish full-auto mode. This is not nearly as accurate, however, and can be risky if used at the wrong time due to the Hammerburst's comparatively small clip (Around 17 Shots). This is made all the more interesting by the Hammerburst's scope - other than the Longshot and the game's Pistols, the Hammerburst is the only weapon with this feature - a feature it makes excellent use of. Though the zoom of the Hammerburst's scope isn't great, it has much better targeting than the Lancer, and has a much longer effective range than any pistol barring the Snub Pistol - making the Hammerburst uniquely suited to making use of this feature. Using the Hammerburst effectively is all about managing these two fire modes. Firing single shots will yield good results when picking at enemies in cover or who are trying to Snipe with a Longshot or aim the likes of a Torque Bow or Boomshot (just make sure you're not in the crosshairs). In this regard, the Hammerburst is surprisingly good in a counter sniper role. As you get closer - or if you have the good fortune to get near an enemy's flank or back - cut loose with firing as fast as you can. The improved firepower of the Hammerburst and vastly improved accuracy over the Lancer will mean that your enemies will be cut down in record time if you can catch them before they can react. Similarly, if an enemy gets close (in an attempt to rush with a shotgun for example), open fire with everything you have, the stopping power will render most dodge attempts useless and give you a quick kill with bullets to spare. Perfect Reloading increases the Hammerburst's destructive potential dramatically; get good with the timing. Your time will be well-spent honing your technique and you're going to have ample opportunity to do so in single player or practice. It's also worth noting that the Hammerburst also boasts superior blind-fire accuracy. Used correctly, it can land shots easily with either fire mode. It goes without saying that this is an abusable advantage of the Hammerburst and should be used frequently, as enemies are known to cower under accurate blindfire. In melee combat, you can hit a standing enemy behind a cover while the Lancer cannot. Also, a tip of using melee combat is to fire while the enemy is running toward you (again utilizing stopping power) or you're running toward your enemy. Then when you approach him, melee. If the melee combined with the shots has not yet downed the enemy, roll back. The enemy should still be stunned by the time your roll has finished, leaving you time to spray out those last few shots as quickly as possible. One should note that both the Hammerburst and the Lancer are capable of headshots. The Hammerburst does have drawbacks, however, and you should take note of them. The Hammerburst's small clip is a big one. Though it isn't much of a problem firing single shots, rapid-firing the Hammerburst can drain the clip in a little over a second, and you don't want to be caught with empty magazines in a firefight. Make sure you're in cover (or can press the advantage) before emptying the clip, go for Perfect Reloads whenever possible, and get better at aiming if you want to minimize the risks. Make note: You cannot, ever, beat the staying power of a Lancer when firing quickly - so don't even try. Even if the Lancer firer cuts loose on full-auto, never letting off the trigger, they'll have a solid few seconds of lead spewing your way - while you'll blow your clip in a second if you jam the fire button. Because of this, the idea of using the Hammerburst against the Lancer is to bring them down before their high ammo capacity and fire rate gives them the edge. This is where the high firepower and accuracy of the Hammerburst comes into play; if you need more than a clip of ammo to down an enemy at close range with the Hammerburst, you need to seriously refine your aim. Again, practice is everything. The second weakness of the Hammerburst is that it lacks a Chainsaw Bayonet - and its melee damage is only middling. Though the Chainsaw Bayonet of the Lancer is extremely risky and hard to use, it is a massive advantage once mastered - and an advantage that the Hammerburst lacks. There is nothing worse for a Hammerburst user than hearing the growl of a Chainsaw Bayonet near him/herself. Lancer veterans know that a Hammerburst user is an easy kill, but only if they can get to melee range. Remember that most lancer players will ALWAYS try to utilize the chainsaw at close ranges, but assuming you can rapid fire fast enough, the chainsaw shouldn't be able to reach you (unless they come up behind you). Except for melee situations, the Hammerburst has the advantage over the lancer in most situations. Additionally, it has a large disadvantage to a Torque Bow or Boomshot in close combat. The third weakness of the Hammerburst is that it is rather weak at closer ranges. Though the Hammerburst can deal frightful damage when rapid-fired, it is not capable of beating the Gnasher Shotgun, Boltok Pistol, or Gorgon Pistol in a damage race in close-combat unless the firer has a great deal of skill, luck or the ability to spray the enemy before they can squeeze off the killing shot. Remember that an active reloaded hammerburst has the potential to down a shotgunner before they can squeeze off just two shots. It also isn't as strong at extreme-ranged combat as the Longshot or Torque Bow - but it does have other advantages over these, as it is much more forgiving than the Longshot or Torque bow if you miss, and is far more effective as the fight closes to close range. Because of this, the Hammerburst makes for an excellent support weapon. The fourth weakness is it's gretly reduced bullet speed, so slow that locusts rounds are typically easy to dodsge, and players can have a hard time landing headshots on anything but a completely stationary target. This requires the user to lead the target at long rangew,. However, an opponent behind cover who exposes their head can duck back behind cover before a Hammerburst round hits them. All in all, the Hammerburst is a solid weapon in general, and one of the most versatile guns in Gears of War 2. It's harder to use than the Lancer, harder to master, and much less-forgiving in-close, but the higher firepower and accuracy, paired with its superior range, makes it a much better gun in many situations. Gold-Plated Hammerburst On November 6th at Gamestop, Game Crazy, and other midnight release retailers there was an event called "Midnight Mayhem". Loyal players that attended this event on the Eve of the launch of Gears Of War 2 received a code to unlock a Golden Hammerburst. These codes are similar to Xbox Live trial codes, and are unique. Once it is used, that particular code cannot be used again, preventing sharing. You can only get this special promotion at Gamestop, Game Crazy etc... November 6th minutes before the release of Gears of War 2. Failed Golden Hammerburst Code? It happened to many people on November 7th, to fix the problem go to your dashboard into the marketplace, and then account management, then download history, and if your code was valid you will be able to redownload it no problem. Trivia * The Hammerburst is Damon Baird's favored weapon in Gears of War 2. * The Gears of War 1 Hammerburst bears a distinct resemblance to the Bolter from Warhammer 40K. * With the change of the Hammerburst from a burst-firing weapon to its current state, the name appears, to many players, to be something of a misnomer. * The Gears of War 2 Hammerburst is the only weapon not a Pistol or Longshot that can zoom in. * The new Gears of War 2-era Hammerburst is actually more of a battle rifle than an assault rifle. This is because of the longer barrel, higher accuracy and range, more power, and smaller clip size. Hammerburst Assault Rifle Category:Gears of War 2 weapons Category:Locust Horde